← 5 Dec Friday 6 December 2019 · to 23:59 UTC 7 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
20,704 stories about harm· Trends· Every past day

We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.

How to read these numbers →

The day's news pointed at gas explosion in Slovakia, illness in Apia and abductions in India. India's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. In the world's news as a whole, the wording was much harsher than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 35 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostIndia 30 in 100 of its 5,785 stories, usually 17
RegionSouth Asia 29 in 100 of its stories, usually 21
Tone of the words Much harsher than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Disasters & accidents

Slovakia

24 of its 42 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Presov accounted for 20 of Slovakia's 24 stories about harm, carried by 110 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (8 stories). Gas explosion was named in 21 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Health

Samoa

99 of its 111 stories (89%) were about people being harmed, usually 72%. Apia accounted for 40 of Samoa's 99 stories about harm, carried by 77 outlets. Ebola was named in 14 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Rights & justice

India

1,707 of its 5,785 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of abductions ran at about 6 times the usual rate (92 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Saudi Arabia

141 of its 549 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (57 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Gambia

34 of its 73 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (12 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Rights & justice

Germany

156 of its 703 stories (22%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (88 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Iran

Tehran accounted for 89 of Iran's 172 stories about harm, carried by 226 outlets. 62 of Tehran's 89 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Protests & strikes

Iraq

Baghdad accounted for 80 of Iraq's 137 stories about harm, carried by 241 outlets. 72 of Baghdad's 80 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Rights & justice

UK

Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (37 stories). Earthquake was named in 26 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with measles, tuberculosis and ebola. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Mauritania

27 of its 28 stories (96%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. Nouadhibou accounted for 22 of Mauritania's 27 stories about harm, carried by 51 outlets.

Also named far more than usual: hypothermia in Spain (45 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); building collapse in Kenya (30 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); storms in Ireland (36 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); landslides in Uganda (12 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); heavy rain in Japan (12 of its stories, about 9 times its usual).

18 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 17; 17 the day before
21 in 10016 in 1007 Nov14 Nov21 Nov28 Nov6 Dec7 Nov: 16 in 1008 Nov: 16 in 1009 Nov: 17 in 10010 Nov: 18 in 10011 Nov: 17 in 10012 Nov: 17 in 10013 Nov: 17 in 10014 Nov: 17 in 10015 Nov: 17 in 10016 Nov: 18 in 10017 Nov: 18 in 10018 Nov: 17 in 10019 Nov: 17 in 10020 Nov: 16 in 10021 Nov: 16 in 10022 Nov: 16 in 10023 Nov: 17 in 10024 Nov: 19 in 10025 Nov: 17 in 10026 Nov: 18 in 10027 Nov: 18 in 10028 Nov: 18 in 10029 Nov: 17 in 10030 Nov: 20 in 1001 Dec: 21 in 1002 Dec: 18 in 1003 Dec: 17 in 1004 Dec: 16 in 1005 Dec: 17 in 1006 Dec: 18 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 6 Dec. The big dot is this day; the shaded band is a normal day (the 30 days before it). Click a day to open it. Based on 20,704 stories about harm among 115,688 counted on 6 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

Slovakia's news mentioned gas explosion more than ten times as often as usual. 18 in every 100 of the day's 115,688 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Slovakia, 57% of the news was about people being harmed, where 20% is usual. A year earlier, on 6 December 2018, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 18 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Algiers, Algeria -- protests & strikes: 13 stories, carried by 26 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Guwahati, India -- protests & strikes: 7 stories, carried by 25 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 39 stories, carried by 43 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Kyiv, Ukraine -- attacks & violence: 24 stories, carried by 69 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Sumburgh, UK -- accidents & disasters: 6 stories, carried by 29 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Abuja, Nigeria -- protests & strikes: 110 stories, carried by 49 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Tokyo, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 53 stories, carried by 74 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Santiago, Chile -- protests & strikes: 19 stories, carried by 48 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Wan Chai, Hong Kong -- protests & strikes: 22 stories, carried by 45 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Bristol, UK -- accidents & disasters: 59 stories, carried by 95 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Mexico City, Mexico -- attacks & violence: 13 stories, carried by 50 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Nouadhibou, Mauritania -- accidents & disasters: 22 stories, carried by 51 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Presov, Slovakia -- accidents & disasters: 20 stories, carried by 110 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tripoli, Libya -- people displaced: 17 stories, carried by 103 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Montreal, Canada -- attacks & violence: 117 stories, carried by 125 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Apia, Samoa -- disease & outbreaks: 40 stories, carried by 77 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Barcelona, Spain -- accidents & disasters: 47 stories, carried by 113 outlets; harsh wording in 81 in 100Nairobi, Kenya -- accidents & disasters: 71 stories, carried by 142 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Sydney, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 139 stories, carried by 209 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Tehran, Iran -- protests & strikes: 89 stories, carried by 226 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Paris, France -- protests & strikes: 142 stories, carried by 300 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- protests & strikes: 80 stories, carried by 241 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Coral Gables, US -- attacks & violence: 186 stories, carried by 484 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Pearl Harbor, US -- attacks & violence: 324 stories, carried by 855 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100
Attacks & violenceAccidents & disastersPeople displacedDeaths, cause not givenProtests & strikesDisease & outbreaks

The day's biggest events: attacks, accidents and disasters, people displaced, protests, outbreaks. Bigger dot: more stories. Ranked by the share of the day's outlets that reported it and how clearly it was about one thing, the same way for every place and year; the news data does not say who attacked whom, so both sides of a war appear where the news put them. Click a dot for its stories.

The day in three measures

How it felt 30 days →

harshwarm

The words in the day's stories were much harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angera little more than usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefa little more than usual
● Fearabout as usual

From the words reporters used across the whole day, never one story. Fear is the weakest of the four measures. How?

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How to read these numbers →

These are counts of stories, not counts of suffering. Most of what happens to people is never reported at all.